Some Sizzling Scintillating Speculations

I've said this earlier and I continue to say it.It's great to be alive, to have all our bodily functions intact and to be in the 'pink of health and spirits' as they say!*smiles* Everything else is secondary - how much we earn,what our neighbour has, what his neighbour has,why our flat is small, why he said this to me, why she said this to her, gossip...everything. We shouldn't allow it to spoil the gratitude we need to feel towards Him for each day which is passing without any real problems. Having said this, please go through this email I received from a friend, about a friend of his. I've reproduced it below: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Message from a friend of mine: Tragedy stuck a close friend Ramani: At this juncture of our lives and in the current scenario, I believe all our problems look meagre compared to what Ramani and his family are going through... I have known Ramani since several years during our ...

Nicknames- just the thought of them brings a smile to the face. I am sure you also have nicknames for your most favourite, most hated, best friends,relatives,et al. Can you remember some of the funniest ones? Let me recount some of the best ones I've coined/ heard/used: At work: - Taklu(for someone who has an abject lack of hair a la Mr. Weatherbee, or, has a totally bald pate )...like, taklu aa gaya. (The taklu has come)...especially when the person does not know Hindi, it's all the more fun, since you can use the nick without fear.LOL. - Bud-dha :(The dash is to distinguish from the serenity which the word Buddha brings to my mind): For someone who's old. If he/she is a bit cranky, they're called 'Buddha Ghoonsat' or, 'Buddhi'. - The Mad Brother : The guy at work in one of my jobs, who was so irritating that we twisted his name from Eemad B to 'The Mad Brother'. - Joker: This was/is my term for anyone who's stubborn and refuses to underst...

Where do you think this pic is taken from ? An aeroplane? No..it’s from the (current) world’s tallest building under construction, Burj Dubai.(I see it everyday on the way to and return from work,and call this marvel 'history in the making') I wonder whether anyone from that level would be tempted to see whether they can walk on the clouds? The above pic, again from the top of the Burj. I felt dizzy just looking at it . Wonder how those workers are sitting so peacefully? Speaking of the Burj , I read yesterday that a British man has leapt from the Burj , to successfully complete the world’s highest BASE jump from a building- and, promptly landed himself a date in court next week. The 36-year old clambered up 150 floors of stairs without being spotted by security guards before leaping with a parachute just before 5 AM. ---- Once again- I engaged in some pleasant conversation, with someone from a group of what I consider Dubai’s most interesting conversationalist people- the ta...

Keshi reminded me that I did not give the answer for the above ad in my last but one post. The ad is for : Grow More Trees Explanation, for those not familiar with our customs: In India(and, perhaps, elsewhere), some varieties of trees are considered sacred, and people worship them, say prayers and move around them while saying them(prayers). So, in the future, if we’re not careful, we might be worshipping around telephone/electricity poles, since there won’t be any trees around. ---- Someone recently sent in this ‘revelation’ to a newspaper: As you know, when you give your ATM card at any store , there are two slips which come out of the printer. One slip is given to you for signing. This slip has your full card number. The other slip which you get as your record copy, has just the first four and the last four digits of your card. So, any cashier, if he or she wants to misuse your card, can easily memorize the expiry date, turn over the card and memorize the three pin number digits an...

Wee hours of the morning. An accident. Person hit by a pick-up van. Body on a stretcher. In an ambulance. Being covered by a white sheet by the doctor. Sandal on left foot visible. Crowd of 15-20 people observing. Some describing what happened. Two policemen in their smart uniforms stand around. Scared pickup vehicle driver. Told by police to bring his car to the side. Probably wondering whether his insurance will pay the AED 200,000/- (Around Rs 24 lakhs) blood money to the next of kin of the diseased? Will the family of the deceased agree to get him released, when their anger subsides? Or, will he spend the rest of his life in jail? Crowd disperses. Another ‘event’ observed. Time to go to work. Or go ahead with daily tasks. I say a silent prayer for the poor guy. May his soul rest in peace. Wonder what were his thoughts at that last moment. Human life has very little value, indeed! Just like in India!

Why do people have such a high ego? What set me off was this incident at the supermarket on the ground floor of our building. I was standing in the three-person long queue , and this lady ahead of me suddenly left the stuff at the counter and told him’ Wait, I forgot something. I’ll be back’. So, the guy, assuming that she’d take time, took over my purchases and was about to ring them in his register, when the lady came back and literally growled’ I WAS HERE BEFORE HIM’. The guy, feeling embarrassed, told her’ But, you went off to get something’ , looking at me apologetically. Sensing an angry ego about to erupt, I just told the guy’ Go ahead, finish her work first’, and smiled at both of them before turning to browse the magazine rack near me. It made me wonder- what makes people so surly? Had the lady said the same thing with a smile, it would have made the situation a lot pleasanter. And, I’m sure she’d have looked prettier too, instead of looking like a thin growling bear (wearin...